This invention relates generally to computer peripherals and more particularly to ways that computer peripherals having functionality allowing them to communicate using multiple types of hardware interfaces and peripherals with more than one mode of operation.
Computer peripherals communicate with other electronics devices of a computer system using hardware interfaces. For example, popular types of interfaces used in many personal computers (PC""s) and workstations for communication to and from peripherals are the Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE-1394 (xe2x80x9cFirewirexe2x80x9d), and the AT Attachment Packet Interface (ATAPI). Computer peripherals may also have more than one operating mode. For example, a peripheral may have a normal operating mode that is used most of the time, and a diagnostic operating mode that is used during manufacturing or some other testing period.
Unfortunately, it is desirable that some peripherals be able to select at power-up the type of interface that it is going to be using to communicate. Likewise, it is desirable that some peripherals be able to select their operating mode at power-up. This functionality provides a savings in design, material and inventory costs because only one type of board needs to be designed, manufactured, and warehoused in order to produce peripherals that can communicate with these different types of interfaces or operate in more than one mode. Without this functionality, two or more different peripheral designs built with different configurations of components would have to be stocked and inventoried. This increases the demands on manufacturers to tightly regulate their inventories to ensure enough of the right items are in stock both to build the peripheral, and to deliver the right configuration of the peripheral to customers.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides for the selection between two different interfaces, or device modes, on a single device at power-up. The selection provided by the invention allows a single device design to communicate with different interface types dependent upon the selected interface type. The selection provided by the invention may also allow the device to select between device modes, such as a diagnostic mode and normal operation. Extra switches, extra jumpers, or complicated firmware that tests which interface is active is not necessary with the invention.
A device embodying the invention may have two interfaces designed into the hardware and firmware. Selection between these two interfaces, or a selection of a device mode, is indicated by the position of a jumper on an IDE/ATAPI-style jumper block. A pull-up resistor and selection detect signal are connected to a pin on the IDE/ATAPI-style jumper block associated with a jumper that is not monitored by the IDE/ATAPI master/slave selection (or other type of configuration) detect hardware or used to pull-down or pull-up another jumpered pin on the jumper block. When a jumper is placed between this pin, and a pin used to pull-up or pull-down another jumpered pin the selection detect signal will be read as being at the pulled-up or pulled-down logic level, respectively. Otherwise, the configuration detect hardware will function normally.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.